That Wasn't Human

On a barren, yellow wasteland, Ghost Mist, Oboro and his squad are hunting Chimera Ant...

They were completely surrounded by the ant colony.

This is another corner of the Chimera Ant habitat, long since separated from the forest.

Different territories were governed by different Squadron Leader, each leading their own army.

They compete to find food for the queen ant and strive to make contributions... There is also a competitive spirit among them.

Different Squadron Leader naturally adopt different offensive strategies and policies when facing the enemy.

This time, the number of Chimera Ant mobilized exceeded ten thousand, making it the strongest ant army Oboro and his team had encountered in recent times. However, with Oboro present... no matter how many ants there were, they couldn't gain any advantage; at most, they could only buy them some time.

Anthony and Fante were enveloped in the fog, using En's Nen techniques. The Ghost Mist's influence on Nen had no effect on them, allowing them to freely hide in the fog and slaughter the ants swarming in from all directions.

As for Menchi, Gabe Vich, and Rita, they have already left NGL.

They headed to the sea area outside the Yorbian Continent, as planned, to take care of some business.

Pariston knew that Oboro coveted the Chimera Ant and wanted to do something about it, but he didn't know what Oboro's purpose was... Therefore, based on the other's thinking, Oboro didn't believe that Pariston wasn't monitoring NGL's movements, mainly to keep an eye on him.

Therefore, they arranged for Menchi and his two companions to appear in a coastal city on the Yorbian Continent, thus creating a smokescreen.

And far from areas detectable by humans, that is, to a very remote island, to create a false impression... The relevant procedures have already been completed by Longdu using the power of the Fills Family. The location of the island is roughly the same as the coordinates of the island where he killed the Journey to the Saiyu.

While it might not be able to hide it from Pariston, it could at least distract him.

This led him to believe that he could no longer restrain himself and wanted to go to the Dark Continent before Beyond could, thus breaking the agreement with Netero.

This gimmick and motivation were enough to attract Pariston's attention.

"Forget about Squadron Leader, not even a sergeant-level ant has appeared..."

They fought from morning till night, and after the battle finally ended, Anthony disgustedly took off his blood-soaked clothes and said something.

He was still awestruck by the terrifying power of the captain's Nen. Within a kilometer radius, it had practically become Oboro's domain... any life that ventured in would have its soul silently taken by the demon. Moreover, because the mist could block perception, the Ghost Mist had actually become a protective zone, minimizing the danger he and Fante faced.

In contrast, these ants, once inside the fog, were like headless flies.

"Menchi should have already notified Kite's team, and the Association probably knows too..." Fante didn't have Anthony's obsession with cleanliness. He didn't bother to tidy his appearance, but sat down on the ground, lit a cigarette, and looked at Long: "He... will keep it a secret for us, right?"

Fante refers to Kite. Menchi told Kite about the Chimera Ant, but only a small part of the information. Oboro did this to keep the Association's Hunter x Hunter in the dark... and also to ensure that the source of the information was not from them, but that Kite discovered it herself.

Kite is a disciple of Ging Freecss, and given Oboro's connection to the Zodiacs, Fante doesn't trust the former much.

Sitting on the ant corpse, Long chuckled, "Kite can guess a little. Without confirmation, she won't expose us... Pariston won't know either."

"In other words, Ging Freecss will know."

Fante understood the implied meaning.

"You can rest assured about him... at least until Netero dies, he won't join forces with Pariston."

Hazy.

Fante nodded.

Now that the captain had a plan, he felt relieved.

Unlike Menchi, who was originally a member of the Hunter Association, the four of them followed Menchi first and only officially joined the Association later... so they didn't have as strong a sense of belonging to the Association. Even knowing that some of the Association Hunter x Hunter they considered comrades would die in this premeditated plan, they didn't care too much.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Association should send someone over to investigate soon.

Back then, there were quite a few people who accepted the investigation commission from Kakin Biological Investigation.

The first wave of ants, due to information asymmetry, will inevitably suffer losses at the hands of the Chimera Ant, thus becoming experimental materials for the ants' research on 'Nian'.

The first group to arrive were also the weakest. It would likely be long before the Association realized what was happening and issued an order prohibiting ordinary individual members from conducting in-depth investigations into the NGL, thus raising the mission level.

"Captain, given the Chimera Ant's combative nature, it's impossible for them to be this steady, right? Didn't you say that there are a few ruthless characters among those Squadron Leader?" Anthony changed the subject.

The number of Chimera Ant that have died at the hands of their squad is countless.

It's quite strange that the ant nest hasn't launched a strong counterattack in this situation.

His gaze was fixed on the distant horizon, beneath a deep night sky.

"They may be aggressive, but... they're also afraid of death, and none of them are stupid..."

"We've already arrived... you just haven't noticed..."

"Long answered."

Fante and Anthony both followed his gaze.

Could it be that...

The two men had solemn expressions.

There were Chimera Ant of Squadron Leader rank lurking nearby, but they were far enough away and their presence was extremely well concealed... Most importantly, even in the darkness, they could still be clearly seen by sight, and everything happening on this battlefield was still clearly visible.

Tsk tsk tsk... No wonder they are advanced life forms, species of the Dark Continent.

Meanwhile, on a hillside several miles away...

A Squadron Leader with a face resembling a red panda, wearing a human-shaped metal necklace around his neck, led his two deputies, who were also corps captains, to a high vantage point, looking out over the battlefield where the sound had faded.

The two squad leaders couldn't see it... they could only sense that the ant colony's signal had been lost.

But Squadron Leader Nairo saw it clearly...

Are they all dead?

The squad leader stared at Nairo.

"Hey... what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Did you get a good look at that human?"

Another squad leader raised his hand and waved it in front of the little panda.

Nairo took a step back, his throat bobbing. "Let's go back!"

The two squad leaders exchanged a glance.

Now, Nairo finally understood what Kourudo and Peggy meant... During this time, the indiscriminate slaughter by these humans in their territory had long aroused the resentment of some Squadron Leader. However, they had been blocked by Kourudo and Peggy, and seeing that these Squadron Leader were about to fight among themselves, Nairo, as a centrist, volunteered to take charge.

He even brought a large swarm of ants! Although his eyesight was excellent, he couldn't see very clearly...

However, he sensed the 'mysterious energy' that Kourudo had mentioned.

There was also an indescribable sense of terror.

That belonged to some transcendent species that was above his level of existence...

It is the ruler.

In Nairo's eyes, the sky above that battlefield was marked with two large characters: Restricted Area! "He... he spotted me... but... but he doesn't seem to intend to attack..."

Sweat beaded on Nairo's face. After speaking, he immediately turned and left.

"That... is not human."